A few weeks ago, as I stood with my iPhone in one hand and my iPad in the other, a colleague joked with me saying, “I guess you really can teach an old dog new tricks,” and it got me thinking. It’s one of those expressions about human nature from which none of us is immune. In fact, as I’ve gotten older, the pace of learning has sped up rather than slowed down.
I’ve been around long enough not only to observe and but to personally adapt to new technologies unimaginable in my youth. Compared to Millennials and Gen-Xers, we Baby Boomers are light years ahead when it comes to the sheer quantity of what we’ve learned and the innovations we’ve adopted. In our efforts to keep up with the Joneses, we’ve been forced to keep up with the Jetsons.
While this post is somewhat tongue-in-cheek, I also genuinely hope to prepare younger generations for their future in which they will have to adjust, adapt, and acclimate in order to “keep up” with their successors.
New Tricks Become Old Tricks
There are many “technologies” that were shocking innovations in their day that are either antiquated or no longer even exist in the market: slide rulers, adding machines, typewriters, AM-only radios, and televisions with rotary dials accessing the few major networks. As a teen with a part-time cashier job, I actually had to use basic math skills to provide correct change to customers who paid in cash, no less. As the new devices were developed, a new dimension of education itself was ushered in as well. That is to say, the group that wanted these advancements had to pay the price of learning to use them. We were, after all, the “Star Wars”/”Star Trek” generation that imagined and wondered, and ushered in an atmosphere of opportunity bequeathed to today’s youth.
New Dogs Become Old Dogs
I’m all for giving Gen-Xers and even Millennials their due. They have produced many of today’s commonly used tools (smartphones, tablets, not to mention Google, Twitter, and Facebook) that have helped facilitate better communication and collaboration. Can you imagine living and working without email, texting, or video-conferencing? I can’t. And I haven’t even scratched the surface of innovations such as robotics or the highly anticipated Google Glass.
In the relay of life, they’ve taken the baton and gone farther, faster than I ever could have imagined. That said, someday, they will be the proverbial “old dogs” and will be the generation learning to use technologies they can’t currently imagine. They will be the ones squinting at screens, befuddled over the latest and greatest tools and toys.
New Dogs Need Old Tricks, Too
Sure the social media sites and other networking platforms are here for the long haul, but knowing how to send friend requests isn’t enough. If your experience is anything like mine, you no doubt receive requests to connect on various social networking platforms. More often than not, I seem to receive the impersonal, default message, rather than a personal, customized message. It’s disappointing because at the very creation of the relationship, the other party fails to indicate a genuine interest in establishing a true connection.
Most of the time, living in today’s hyper-connected world, people seem to be taking less time to develop quality relationships but invest their time and energy seeking to increase their Facebook friends, LinkedIn connections, and Twitter followers, presumably, for the sake of appearing popular or in-demand. But to what end? Most of us don’t derive our livelihood from Facebook. On the other hand, our net-worth is often determined by our network.
Meaningful business comes from meaningful relationships. Take away the profile pictures and the social graphs showing who-knows-whom, and what do you have? Real, emotional connections, I hope. Otherwise, you’re wasting your time and energy. Balancing virtual networks with genuine relationships takes practice. Something new dogs can learn from us old(er) dogs.
Successful Entrepreneurs Are Learners
When I give a talk on relationship management, I often tout the notion that everybody sells. In fact, I go so far as to say that Einstein was a salesman—and what he sold were his theories and ideas. In the same way, I believe that every entrepreneur worth his salt is not only a salesperson, but they must also be a lifelong learner. Whether it’s learning how to use a new technology, or how to apply real-life principles to up-and-coming virtual platforms, entrepreneurs adapt.
If it’s true that success stands on the shoulders of those before them. Old dogs, new dogs, we all have something to learn—and something to teach. Whether it’s adapting to a new technology developed by a younger generation or adopting a time-tested principle modeled by an older generation, true entrepreneurship knows no age. I think that is the most important lesson of all.
